Last night, we watched the first episode of Netflix’s new series House of Cards. I’d been eager to see how the series turned out because they’d filmed scenes all over my old Baltimore neighborhood of Mt. Vernon for most of last year. I like it so far, but it’s tough to get over the frequent familiar landmarks. I wonder if other Mt. Vernon folks have the same problem?

When they were filming, I got used to navigating around production trucks at locations like the Belvedere, the Engineer’s Club, or the old Monumental Life building. This was a frequent scene on my way to and from work:

I knew I’d recognize some of the exteriors, something The Wire got me used to, but it’s still neat to see my neighborhood in a series, though it can be distracting, especially for anyone watching with me when I say things like, “Hey, that’s the Lyric Opera House, though they changed the sign to read ‘The National Center for Performing Arts’. Is that CG? I think they did that with CG.” (Sorry, Sophia.)

In the shot below, Zoe Barns (played by Kate Mara) heads into her apartment, which is wedged between Dyonisus, where I spent many nights after grad school readings, and Nino’s Pizza, where I’d grab post-Dyonisus pizza. It’s less than a block from the University of Baltimore building were I had all my classes. So, you know, memories.

And that’s all just from the first episode! People from Los Angeles must be desensitized to this sort of thing by every movie, TV show, and car commercial ever made. But for this Baltimore boy, it’s still kind of a thrill.